Common logic suggests that keeping multiple open lines of credit can hurt your credit score, but under the right circumstances you can benefit. Keeping a high balance on any one card can hurt your score month to month, but if you have three you can spread it out.

A friend of mine recently applied for a loan, and due to a number of complicated circumstances her credit score is about average. Banks want a score over 700 in order to offer a better rate, so one kind banker offered my friend some interesting advice. She suggested using three credits cards instead of one to keep a lower balance.

Credit bureaus consider a high balance to be anything over 30%. If you spread your debt out over three cards, you can still spend what you need to spend in a given month without concerning the credit bureaus. Additionally, three low-balanced cards make you look more responsible than one card with a higher balance. It shows that you can maintain multiple lines of credit without failing to pay off your bills. This makes you look more attractive to the banks when applying for loans, especially if your lower balances boost your credit score to 700 or above.